Gulf | Kuwait

Officer sentenced to death for murder in Kuwait

Manama: A Kuwaiti court on Thursday sentenced an officer to death for killing another officer.

Arguments by the lawyer that the killer was not in a normal state of mind at the time of the murder of Saud Al Husaini were thrown out by the court in the high-profile trial.

“The defendant was in a normal state and he was well aware of what he was doing,” the court said, local news sites reported. “The claims made by the lawyer that he had psychological issues are not true and cannot be accepted.”

Witnesses said that the two men were sitting with other officers in the police station in the Qadisiyaa area last September when they started arguing. Following dinner shared by all officers, Saud walked into the tearoom to bring tea for the group. The killer, who was not named, followed him, took out a gun and shot him dead. He then ran away, carrying the gun with him.

Shocked officers called an ambulance, but Saud could not survive the wounds.

The death sentence was immediately hailed by MP Khalid Al Shemaili.

“It proves that the justice system in Kuwait is fair and we hope that the ruling will remain,” he said, quoted by Citytalks news site, referring to the appeals that the defendant can make. “Saud was a straight man who was killed in a fit of Satanic anger.”

On April 1, Kuwaiti authorities executed three men sentenced to death in separate murder cases.

The Pakistani, Saudi and ‘bidoon’ (stateless resident) were executed in the Central Prison at 8am in the presence of the public prosecutor and delegates from the justice and interior ministries.

It was the first execution in Kuwait since May 2007.

Mohammad Al Duaij, the head of the executive prosecution, said there were 48 people on the death row. He said that they had used up all their recourses and were waiting for the endorsement of the emir to carry out the executions.